Ten things you may not know about the Scottish Highlands

1. The region is known for its mountainous terrain and natural beauty, and is home to the highest mountain in the British Isles, Ben Nevis. The mountain is located in the Highland region of Lochaber, near the town of Fort William. Ben Nevis is a popular destination for hikers and climbers, with an estimated 130,000 ascents per year. The north face of the mountain features 700-meter (2,300 feet) cliffs that provide challenging rock climbs and scrambles for experienced climbers. The summit of the mountain is the collapsed dome of an ancient volcano, and it is home to the ruins of an observatory that was used to collect meteorological data from 1883 to 1904. The mountain is also known for its ice climbing routes.

2. The Highlands are governed by the Highland Council, with its administrative center located in Inverness. The Highlands include parts of the council areas of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Caithness, Inverness-shire, Moray, Nairnshire, Ross and Cromarty, and Sutherland, as well as the island council areas of Orkney and Shetland. The Highlands and Islands are a separate electoral region used in elections to the Scottish Parliament.

3. The region was characterized by a clan system in which clan leaders were seen as patriarchal figures and landlords. In the aftermath of the Jacobite risings, the British government enacted legislation to try to suppress the clan system, including bans on the bearing of arms and the wearing of tartan. This legislation was largely repealed by the end of the 18th century.

4. The Napoleonic Wars and the arrival of potato blight in 1846 exacerbated the financial problems of many Highland landlords and led to the sale of many estates. There was a process of agricultural improvement that often involved the clearance of the population to make way for large-scale sheep farming. This led to the displacement of many tenants, who were set up in crofting communities. Crofts were small plots of land that were intended to provide only some of the needs of their occupants, who were expected to work in other industries. Many crofters relied on seasonal migrant work in the Lowlands. The process of eviction and displacement of tenants and cottars in the Highlands during this period is known as the Highland Clearances.

5. The Highlands region of Scotland is known for its whisky production, and it is home to a large number of distilleries. The region produces a wide range of whiskies with different flavors and characteristics. For example, whiskies from the Northern Highlands tend to be sweet and full-bodied, while those from the Eastern and Southern Highlands are lighter in texture. In contrast, whiskies from the Western Highlands tend to be peatier, due to the use of peat in the malt drying process. Some of the top distilleries in the Highlands region include The Macallan, Glenfiddich, Aberlour, Glenfarclas, and Balvenie. The Highlands were also known for their illicit whisky trade in the 18th and 19th centuries.

6.The Scottish Reformation was a significant event in the history of Scotland that took place in the 16th century. It was a movement that sought to reform the Church of Scotland and bring it closer to the teachings of the Protestant Reformers such as Martin Luther and John Calvin. The Scottish Reformation was largely successful in the Lowlands and the east coast of Scotland, but it had only partial success in the Highlands. Roman Catholicism remained strong in some areas of the Highlands due to the efforts of franciscan missionaries from Ireland and the lack of a Gaelic-speaking clergy in the established church. In the 19th century, the evangelical Free Churches, which were more accepting of Gaelic language and culture, grew rapidly in the Highlands and attracted many converts. Today, the Highlands are predominantly Protestant, with most people belonging to the Church of Scotland or the Free Church of Scotland. However, Roman Catholicism still has a significant presence in the region, particularly in the southern islands.

7. The Great Glen is a transform fault that divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands. The region’s complex geomorphology includes incised valleys and lochs carved by mountain streams and ice, and a topography of irregularly distributed mountains with similar heights above sea level. The region was largely covered by ice sheets during the Pleistocene ice ages, except for a few nunataks.

8. There have been trackways or paths from the Lowlands to the Highlands since prehistoric times, including the Causey Mounth, Elsick Mounth, Cryne Corse Mounth, and Cairnamounth and other drover’s roads. A drovers’ road, also known as a drove road or droveway, is a route used for driving livestock, such as cows, sheep, and pigs, on foot from one place to another. These roads were often wider than other roads, with a width of 40 to 90 feet, to accommodate the large herds of animals being driven. They were used for transporting livestock to market or for moving them between summer and winter pasture. Many drovers’ roads were ancient routes of unknown age, while others date back to medieval or more recent times. In some cases, these roads crossed mountains and featured sharp turns to provide cover for animals and people in severe weather

9. The region is characterized by ancient rocks from the Cambrian and Precambrian periods, which were uplifted during the Caledonian Orogeny. The Highlands also contain more recent igneous intrusions, which have formed mountain massifs such as the Cairngorms and the Cuillin of Skye. The region is home to fossil-bearing beds of Old Red Sandstone and Jurassic beds, which are the original source of much North Sea oil. The region is also home to the Caledonian Forest, a unique ecosystem that is home to many species of plants and animals, including the Scots pine.

10.The Highlands are a region in Scotland with a distinct culture and history. The area was traditionally Gaelic-speaking, but now Scottish English is the predominant language. Gaelic is a member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, which also includes Irish and Manx Gaelic. The language has a long and rich history, with evidence of written Gaelic dating back to the 4th century. It has a unique sound and grammar, and is known for its complex verb conjugation and noun declension systems.